Automobile luggage carrier



y 1951 P. J. COMEAU 2,554,776

AUTOMOBILE LUGGAGE CARRIER Filed Oct. 25, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 20 if?lzvvswrana 2 PHILIP d COMEHU L 13 E 11 ,41'27amw 2zr May 29, 1951 P. J.CQMEAU AUTOMOBILE LUGGAGE CARRIER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 25, 194818 PHIL/,

Patented May 29, 1951 AUTOMOBILE LUGGAGE CARRIER Philip J. Comeau,Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Application October 25, 1948, Serial No.56,269 In Canada January 28, 1948 2 Claims. (01. 224-42. 12)

The invention relates to automobile luggage carriers, and is concernedwith a carrier which is adapted to lie within or extend from anautomobile trunk.

Foldable luggage carriers for automobiles have usually consisted of aplatform mounted to the rear of an automobile by brackets which may befolded to bring the platform vertically against the automobile body.This known type of carrier is not satisfactory on an automobile having adoor which exposes the rear of the trunk when open, since the carrierfolds up against the door of the trunk and interferes with itsoperation. Even when not in use, the folded carrier detracts from theouter appearance of the automobile.

According to the invention a luggage carrier is provided for automobileshaving a trunk with a door which exposes the rear of the trunk whenopen, which comprises a platform adapted to lie horizontally within thetrunk or extend therefrom, a side-piece for each side of the platformadapted to enter completely into the trunk and to swing on a hingingmeans fixed near each side of the trunk to a position along a side-edge"of the platform whether the platform lies within or extends from thetrunk, a pivot-head connecting each side-piece to the platform inpivotal and sliding engagement so that each side-piece will swing asaforesaid when the pivotal axis of each pivot-head is substantially inline with the hinging axis of each hinging means and the platform willslide in a direction substantially parallel to the side-edge of theplatform, and a tail-piece extending across and hinged to the tail-edgeof the platform and adapted to engage the sidepieces to support theplatform when extended.

In a form of the invention, each pivot-head is connected to the platformby a pivot at such a location on the platform that, when the platform isextended with the tail-piece in engagement with the side-pieces, thepivotal axis of each pivot-head is substantially out of line with thehinging axis of each hinging means whereby the side-pieces are preventedfrom swinging.

A luggage carrier according to the invention greatly increases theluggage carrying capacity of an automobile without the disadvantages ofknown carriers. When not in use, the carrier may be slid into the trunkwhere it lies against the floor and walls without substantially reducingthe capacity of the trunk, and leaves the outer appearance of the carunaltered. When extended, the carrier provides the additional luggagecarrying capacity required by tourists, taxi-drivers, farmers, etc,

The invention will be further described by reference to the followingdrawings which show an embodiment of it, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an open automobile trunk fitted with aluggage carrier according to the invention,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the carrier extending from theautomobile trunk,

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the carrier,

Figure 4 is a rear elevation of the carrier,

Figure 5 is a detail of a pivot-head connecting a side-piece to theplatform of the carrier,

Figure 6 is a plan view of the carrier,

Figure '7 is a detail of a latch,

Figure 8 is a side elevation of a latch,

Figure 9' is a detail of a hinge for the tail-piece,

Figure 10 is a rear elevation of a trunk .door support, and

Figure 11 is a side elevation of the trunk door support. I

In .Figure 1 the carrier is shown within an automobile trunk I!) havinga door I 0a which exposes the rear of the trunk l0 when open. A platformll lies against the floor l2 of the trunk l0, and vertical side-pieces13 of metal tubing stand along the sides of the trunk Iii with their endtubing passing through the tubes M. The tubes [4 act as hinging meansfor the side-pieces l3 and are fixed to upper supports l5 and lowersupports 16 which are fixed to the trunk ID. The platform II isconnected to the side-pieces It by means of pivot-heads I1. A tail-pieceI8 is hinged to the tail-edge of the platform II by hinges l9 (Figure 9)which adapt it to swing upwardly as shown in Figure 2.

When extended, as shown in Figure 2, the carrier overhangs the rear ofthe automobile and is supported through its tail-piece ill, thesidepieces I3, the tubes l4 and the brackets l5 and I6. Catches 2!] onthe tail-piece [8 are engaged by latches 2| pivoted to the side-piecesl3 by pivots 22. The latches 2| are locked in engagement with thecatches 20 by locking levers 23 of which pins 24 seat in notches 25(Figure 8). Springs 26 urge the pins 24 into the notches 25. Trackways2'! guide the pins 24 to the notches 25 when the tailpiece is beinglatched. Holes in strips 28 on the tail-piece I 8 (Figure 7) engage pins29 on the side pieces I3 to support the platform I I.

As shown in detail in Figure 5, the pivot-heads I! provide pivotal andsliding engagement between the side-pieces l3 and the platform I l.Trackways 30 formed by the bottom members of the side-pieces I3 extendalong the bottom of the side-pieces 13 for their full length and passthrough the pivot-head I! to provide sliding engagement. Pivotalengagement is provided by pivots 3| which connect the head-end of theplatform H to the pivot-heads l1.

By having the pivots 3| connecting the pivotheads I! to the platform llsubstantially out of line with the tubes l4 when the platform H is fullyextended as shown in Figure 3, the sidepieces [3 are prevented fromswinging and the carrier .is made more stable.

To extend the carrier from the position shown in Figure 1 to that shownin Figure 2, the platform H is pulled from the trunk on the pivotheadsI! which slide along the trac'kways 30 until the pivots 3| are in linewith tubes .Ihe sidepieces I3, now free to swing, are swung from theirpositions completely within the trunk was shown in Figure 1 to theirpositions along the sides of the extended platform H as shown in Figure,2, The platform ll may be then adjusted into the position shown inFigures 2 and 3 so that the tailpiece !8 may be raised and latched tothe sidepieces 13 in the manner described above. In this Position, thecarrier is self-supporting from the brackets 15 and 1.6, and ready tocarry luggage.

When the carrier is extended, it may be desirable .to lower the door1.011 from its open position as determined by asupport 32 which isusually provided in automobile trunks. To do this, a telescopic supportin two sections 33 and 34 is provided (Figures and 11). Section 33hinges to the .door 10;; by .a hinge 3.5 and the section 34 may beconnected to the top of the tail-piece 18 by a latch 36. A thumbscrew 3]is used to set the adjustment between the sections 33 and 34, and aspring 38 holds the support when not in use as shown in Figure 1.

When the carrier is not needed, it may be returned to its positioncompletel within the trunk ID by unlatching the tail-piece l8, slidingthe platform .ll until the pivots 31 are in line wi h the tubes l4swinging the side-pieces 1.3 into the trunk 10, folding the tail-piecel8 against the platform I1 and sliding the platform ll into the 4 trunk10 on the pivot-heads H. The trunk door will then close leaving theexterior appearance of the car unaltered by the presence of a luggagecarrier.

What I claim is:

1. A luggage carrier for automobiles having a trunk with a door whichexposes the rear of the trunk when open, which comprises a platformadapted to lie horizontally within the trunk or to extend horizontallytherefrom, a vertically extending side-piece for each side of theplatform, means Within and at the rear of the trunk hinging a verticaledge of each side-piece to the trunk, each side-piece being adapted toswing on its hinging means to a position alongside the platform whetherthe platform lies within or extends from the trunk, a trackway fixedalong the lower edge of each side-piece and extending beneath thehinging means for the side-piece, a pivot-head for each side-piece, eachpivot-head having pivotal engagement with the platform and havingsliding engagement with the trackway of the respective side-piece, and atail-piece hinged to the tail-edge of the platform and adapted to befastened to the side-pieces when the platform is extending from thetrunk.

2. A luggage carrier as defined in claim 1, in which each pivot-head isconnected to the platform by a pivot at a location less distant from thetail-edge of the platform than the horizontal length of the side-pieces.

PHILIP J. C'OMEAU.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent;

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,941,860 Hanson Y -r. Jan, 2,1.934 1,977,735 Mcnckmeier V Oct. 23, 1934 2,091,071 Girl Aug. 24, 1.9372,214,575 Cercownay Sept. 10, 1940 2,470,314 Lim May 17, 1949

